This may seem like a dumb question, but I’ve been thinking about trying an audiobook for Halloween, and I’m looking for suggestions on ways to relax and avoid distractions. Hopefully, I’m posting this question in the right place.
I love to read, but my mind wanders quite often. I’ve seen people comment about listening to audiobooks on long trips. This seems like the ideal time and place for me. However, I have mild to moderate anxiety over leaving my house, so I’m rarely in my car.
A man posted about listening to horror novels with his wife out on the patio, and I know some people buy a physical copy to read along with the audiobook.
Do you have to rewind a lot? It’s easy for me to miss details, and I can’t just sit down and listen to a voice. I’ve tried lying down, but this doesn’t work either. I end up being lulled to sleep even if the story is interesting.
My son used to watch TV while he was doing his homework. I let him do this because he made good grades. I wish I could focus on more than one thing at a time. I don’t even listen to music when I clean my house because it actually slows me down. 😃
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
by Blooming_Lilac
50 Comments
I read the book while listening. Full immersion.
Headphones help – if it’s on a speaker i tune it out.
I’m going to give you a unique suggestion.
Just listen to it and if you get distracted it’s ok. Keep listening and you’ll catch on. I wouldn’t rewind unless you feel like you just need to listen to that 1 chapter all over again.
If I’m watching a movie and I get up real quick to do something, sometimes I don’t rewind the movie and I still figure it out.
An addition to this is listening to the book a 2nd time as soon as you finish it and you get to catch stuff you missed.
I have to be doing something else that doesn’t require a lot of thought or concentration, preferably something physical, like driving in the car, going for a walk, doing chores.
I use headphones and end up going through two or three times to get it all.
It might help to listen to the audiobook at a faster speed. I prefer mine at 1.5. Anything slower than that just turns into the Peanut teacher voice in my head.
I like listening to audiobooks if I’m doing chores like laundry or watering the garden. I like listening to it in the car too if it’s daytime.
i can’t 😭
AirPods
Don’t get caught up on every little word and detail
I usually have to be doing something with my hands while I listen
Uh, I don’t? I only listen to audiobooks if I’m multitasking, lol.
Laundry, cleaning, driving, or other tasks where you can concentrate on the book are great times to listen. I just listened to a book as I was cooking dinner.
Do something with your hands while you listen like art- colouring or moulding with clay or sewing. Seems to help me.
I usually listen to audiobooks while I’m on my exercise bike (honestly, it has increased how often I work out, lol). Otherwise I usually do something with my hands like crochetting. I actually just started doing cross stitch so that I can finish audiobooks before I have to send them back to the library and not have to exercise every day.
ETA: My point is that it helps me to have something physical to do that doesn’t take a lot of concentration so that I can focus on the book. Making your main point is important.
I listen on the treadmill. It helps to multitask with something I don’t have to think too hard about or focus on.
Household chores work best for me. I get through a lot of audio books cleaning, organizing & doing dishes. If I am sitting on in the sofa—I play low effort phone games while listening. 🤣
I play blockdoku on my phone lol
I do something monotonous and boring like laundry
I mostly listen at work (I fold boxes in a warehouse. Yes it’s tedious as fuck, but it’s easy and pays good), and when I’m doing easy chores/DIY stuff at home (like sanding or painting). If whatever I’m doing takes too much concentration I tune out the books, and if I’m not doing anything at all I doze off or zone out completely.
I really struggled to get into audiobooks when I first tried, I found them too slow and just couldn’t seem to concentrate enough to really take in what was being said. Then I saw someone else suggest speeding it up, so I started listening on 1.4x on audible (although I’m now up to 1.8x). It was better but I still found myself getting distracted as my eyes wandered around while listening, so I started using a colour by number style app on my iPad at the same time, and now I love it! My hands and eyes are busy but my brain is free to focus on the book. I’m just wrapping up my 8th audiobook since June and I’m obsessed!
I didn’t use audiobooks so much, I only have one audiobook in my collection and it is a short one. when I listen to an audiobook, I do nothing just sit still and listen to it. Later I will find the book and read it again, nothing can change the satisfaction of reading a book.
It’s all about where your mind wants to be, for it to settle down and process the language/ story you’re hearing. While driving, sometimes I want to drive in silence, let my thoughts play out, follow thoughts to conclusions. Then I’m ready for the audiobook. It’s great for me to listen while folding laundry, turn it up nice & loud while doing dishes, … it is up to you and your mind, and under what circumstances your mind wants to take hold of and follow the audiobook.
Sounds counterintuitive, but listen at 1.5-2X speed. It forces me to pay more attention to the content. It’s the only way I retain audiobooks.
I have to keep my hands busy or I can’t pay attention. So driving, crochet, sudoku, laundry, walking (that one doesn’t require hands)
Best for long drives, chores, and any gardening/ yard work. I actually look forward to it when I know I have my book to listen to
I can read books. But I zone out on audio books.
I listen to audiobooks ONLY while playing mindless games. My brain creates weird associations between what I’m doing and what I’m listening to, but I can almost always concentrate on the story.
It’s hard for me to really focus on audiobooks if there’s anyone else around or anything else is happening.
I only listen to them when I’m on the treadmill or in the car alone. Maybe try them when you’re doing something super mundane. I know you said if you listen to them when you’re cleaning, it slows you down. Maybe if you go on walks, it could be possible? Also depends on the book as well. But if you have nothing else to distract you and you’re not lying down.. maybe when you’re exercising?
For me it isn’t possible. The subtle act of rereading a sentence occurs frequently enough that is audio book analogue makes for a much more annoying experience.
I usually listen when I clean my house; do dishes, mop, vacuum, etc. I immediately pause as soon as my kids start yelling at me to do something (toddlers lol).
I sooo wish I could do audio books but I just can’t. I always end up tuning the narrator out and lose focus. Or their voice will irritate me and I get put off the story. I am an avid reader, but I have never once listened to an audiobook all the way through. I think for some people it just doesn’t work!
I’m not sure if it’s because I have ADHD, but I have to be doing something else while I listen. I always have an audiobook on while I’m driving and when I’m cleaning. Also, my day job is at a desk, I tend to work better and focus more while listening to audiobooks.
The key for me is to do something mindless while i listen. If i just sit still and listen my mind wanders.
I listen to a ton of audiobooks since I’m usually busy with my hands working, running errands, cooking, gaming. Whatever it is, its easy to have a book on as background. Its easy to listen to at the gym since I’m not using brain cells for anything other than remembering to breathe for that activity. Drives are great, keeps me awake on long drives and makes me not mind a handful of short commutes as much. At night before bed but I just have to remember to set like a 45minute timer so I dont have to calculate the approximate time I probably fell asleep and rewind from there.
Sometimes I have to listen to a chapter a lot because I was just spacing out more than usual. Sometimes I listen to a book a bunch because I got it on audible and have a budget or the next in the series is coming out so I’m doing a marathon.
Lots of people are saying cooking, cleaning, and laundry time, and I agree with that. I would also like to suggest creative pursuits: I like to knit, do jigsaw puzzles, or build LEGO kits.
My ADHD brain cannot do it. If I’m not focused on following words and reading myself, my brain wanders. Before I know it, I’ve been thinking 10,000 other things and I have no idea where the book is in the story. It actually slows down my reading instead of speeds it up.
I rewind a lot 🙁 What can I say. I’ve always had trouble focusing for lengthy periods of time.
I recently discovered old radio programs on podcast apps, some really fun tales with cool sound effects and old crackling radio/vinyl sounds. I found i also enjoy having them on in the background when I’m working on something, and I *do* tune those out.
But audiobooks, I try to catch as much as I can so I rewind a lot, even if I’m just walking outside. Problem is, I also enjoy identifying birdsong and listening to the wind or waters. 😛
So it’s a constant fight.
I may be an outlier like your kid or maybe its because I’m the walking definition of an unmedicated adult with adhd, or its because I’ve been listening to audiobooks since I was a very young. but I often will listen to an audio book while doing several other things. I just kinda absorb the words without really thinking or concentrating.
I believe my limit is 4 different streams of information
I paint while listening to a book otherwise it is absolutely impossible for me. Playing some random game like sudoku or something works well enough too, but it’s jot the best option, since it gets boring.
But if i am painting, i can literally do 7-8 hours of audiobook, which is fun.
Raging adhd means that the only reading I currently do is audiobooks while driving, knitting or doing chores.
I walk, great for your body and health. Considering you mentioned anxiety about leaving the house, maybe it could be helpful?
I knit or crochet while I listen. Keeps my hands busy, so my mind is free to be occupied by the audiobook!
Do something with your hands. Cleaning, knitting, drawing, etc.
For me I think it depends on what I’m listening to. Complicated books are difficult on audio. If I’m reading a dense, info heavy book I often scan back and reread sections, which is hard to do in audio format. So I tend to stick to easier stuff for audiobooks – YA, cozy mysteries, or stuff I’ve read before. That also means if I miss something or lose focus, it probably won’t matter too much as it’s an easy book.
However I recently listened to an Agatha Christie on audiobook and had to keep rewinding bits, as I kept missing important parts of the mystery 🤣
same… that’s why I stopped listening- I kept playing phone games with audiobooks
I used to have a hard time with this as well. I have ADHD though. Changing listening speed to 1.5x has changed my audiobook life. The book moves as fast as my brain now and I catch every detail while staying engaged!
I like to listen while I’m either doing chores or knitting/crocheting. In general I need to do something with my hands in order to focus and knitting is my go to.
Listening to books on long hikes has gotten me through a lot of life
I’ve said a few times that Camille Paglia’s *Free Women, Free Men* tried to kill me.
Background: I’d started listening to audio books to pass the time while commuting – I’d just taken a job farther away than I’d ever commuted before, about 50 min each way without traffic. Then I realized how much faster it could be on a motorcycle due to using the HOV lane, so I started doing that.
However, it turns out that riding in traffic takes quite a bit of mental focus to not die…
This mixed fine with “light fiction” where I could mentally “check out” from the book for 30-90 seconds and not feel like I was missing much when I could start paying (full) attention to the book again.
Well, I started listening to *Free Women, Free Men* under those circumstances and quickly learned I had to REALLY focus on the book to get anything out of it. Great book and I learned a lot, but it definitely caused me to take more of my focus away from the road than I was comfortable doing. So I learned my lesson from that book: no books that require my complete attention while riding a motorcycle in traffic. I had several “close calls” that would have been completely routine with music or “light fiction” playing in my ears at the time…
I can’t just sit and listen to a book, I need to be doing something but it can’t be something that needs me to think. I started listening in the car, we moved and the closest store is nearly 30 minutes from my house, so errands were good for 1-2 hours of listening. I also listen while walking outside or on the tread mill with headphones. Then I started listening while doing housework and I’ve recently started working on jigsaw puzzles, to that is another activity I can do while listening. I tried to listen while crocheting, but I need to keep track of stiches so it didn’t work.
I also listen at 1.5 or faster speed. I find that my mind starts to wander when I listen at normal speed, the slower the narrator speaks the faster I need to play it. When I’m driving I pause the book when I need to look for a turn or traffic gets tricky. I primarily use Libby and I can pause and rewind 10 or 15 seconds from the closed screen, so if I miss bits it’s very easy to rewind.
* In the car is the best, especially commuting when it’s the same road every day.
* Walking (by myself on a long, easy path where i’m not thinking about directions or worrying about my dog).
* Folding laundry.
* Quilintg/knitting/crocheting (or, I suppose any other crafty thing where you’re using your hands but not thinking too much).
I only “read” by listening to audiobooks bc I can do other things at the same time. Even if I’m not doing laundry or something, I have two mindless apps I enjoy playing while I listen. But when I notice my mind wandering, I just stop listening. If it keeps happening, the book is not engaging me. If it’s a good book, I get irritated when family members need to talk to me! 😜